Self-venting package



Oct. 30, 1962 B. EDWARDS 3,061,139

SELF-VENTINC PACKAGE Filed March 14, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.3

INVEN TOR.

Brycznz Edwards BY SELF-VENTING PACKAGE Filed March 14, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Bryanf Edwards United States Patent Ofiice 3,061,139 Patented Oct. 30, 1962 3,061,139 SELF-VENTING PACKAGE Bryant Edwards, Oak Park, Ill., assignor to Illinois Tool Works Inc., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 14, 1960, Ser. No. 14,669 13 Claims. (Cl. 220-44) This invention relates in general to a package consisting of a container and closure therefor, and more particularly relates to a container and closure member which sealingly engage each other in a manner to provide a sanitary seal, but at the same time permits egress of gas from the interior of the container without dislocation of the closure member relative to the container.

The packaging of food stuffs in plastic containers having removable lids applied by automatic machinery poses problems not apparent to the casual observer. This is especially true if the food stuff to be packaged is of the type (such as cottage cheese) which generates a gas after being enclosed in a package. This invention shall be disclosed in terms of a package which couldbe used for cottage cheese, which product generates gas or works after it is packaged. It is to be specifically noted, however, that the discussion in terms of packaging cottage cheese is considered to be illustrative rather than limited.

There are three essential qualities for any package utilized with food stuffs, namely; that the package be sanitary; the packaging material must be economical; and the package must be designed such that it will do its required job of -containing within the parameters of its expected environment.

It is a general object of this invention to provide a sanitary, economical, rugged package wherein the closure member and the container member co-act with each other in a manner to seal each other, but which will, however, upon the generation of gas within the interior of the container, permit the gas to pass through the aforesaid seal without causing removal of the closure member relative to the container. Despite the above characteristic, the closure member must be readily removable by the consumer for access to the interior of the container.

More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide a container member having an internal groove adjacent the top opening thereof which is engaged by a portion of a lid or closure member, said container and closure member sealing each other in the vicinity of this internal groove, and either the lid or the container member being formed with a venting and retaining means adjacent the top of the groove area (above the point of the seal) said venting retaining means serving the several functions of being a fulcrum for pivotal movement of the sealing portion of the lid relative to the sealing portion of the container, providing a passageway for free egress of gaseous fluid, and simultaneously serving to prevent unauthorized retrogressive movement of the lid relative to the container.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a package comprising container and lid therefor, which in addition to the venting retaining means aforestated, also has a supplementary venting means which prevents a supplemental seal between other portions of the container and the lid disposed above (downstream of) the first venting means.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a container and lid combination which is sturdy, sanitary, and capable of being economically produced by automatic machinery by high volume mass production techniques.

It is a further and more specific object of this invention to provide a novel lid which is configured so as to provide a sanitary overlay for the lip of the container means; additionally, is adapted to nest with other lids without jamming, has combination venting and retaining means associated therewith, has supplementary means for preventing sealing with the lip portion of the container; is molded from one piece plastic sheet materials; has a configuration which prevents damage to the lids even when a stack of nested lids are subjected to severe compressive action; has an easy feed action in a lid dispensing device due to a self-centering action between adjacent lids in a stack of lids, has a compound curve retaining and stacking ring for co-action with the bottom of the next adjacent container when containers assembled with lids 'are placed in stacked relation, and is otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which it was designed.

The novel features that are characteristic of the invention are set forth with the particularity in the appended claims. The invention, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with its additional objects and advantages thereof will best be understood by the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially in section, showing a container member and closure member embodying the inventive concepts;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view, partially in section, showing a pair of containers with closure members assembled thereto disposed in a stacked relation;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of a plurality of the closure members only and of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, said members being disposed in a nested stacked relationship prior to assembly to the containers per se;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view, a portion being in section, of the closure member shown in FIG. 3, said view showing the closure member from the underside thereof with the bottom portion of the closure member being located in the vertical plane;

FIG. 4a is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the container member and closure member indicating the co-action therebetween when they are disposed in sealing relation;

FIG. 4b is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4a indicating the co-action of the parts when the closure member is venting gaseous material emanating from the interior of the container;

FIG. 40 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a pair of closure members of the type shown in FIGS. 1-4b disposed in stacked relation;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of container closure member similar in many respects to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, said view also being taken from the underside of the closure member with the bottom portion thereof located in the vertical plane;

FIG. 5a is a sectional view of the closure member shown in FIG. 5 and its sealing co-action with a container;

FIG. 5b is a sectional view similar to FIG. 5a showing the closure member of FIG. 5 in a venting position relative to a container; 7

FIG. 6 is a view of an alternative embodiment of a package wherein the co-action is similar to, but almost reversed to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6a is a view similar to FIG. 4a showing the container pack-age of FIG. 6 in its normal assembled sealing relationship;

FIG. 6b is a view of the components in FIG. 6a showing the co-action when the package is venting gases from the interior of the container;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken similar to FIGS. 6a and 6b indicating the sealing co-action of another alternative embodiment of package;

FIG. 7a is a view similar to FIG. 6b showing the venting co-action of the components of the package shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the sealing co-action of still another alternative form of package;

FIG. 8a is a view of the package shown in FIG. 8 showing the co-action of the parts during the venting of gases from the interior of the container.

Returning now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a package 10 comprising a container means 12 and lid or closure means 14 are shown in assembled relation. The container means, as shown, comprises a one-piece plastic container having tapered side walls 16 and an integral bottom wall 18, the side walls diverging upwardly and outwardly to form an open mouth. In the vicinity of the open mouth of the container is an internal groove means 20 which extends radially outwardly from the side Walls 16. The groove means 20 comprises a lower portion 22 and an upper portion 24 and is spaced from the open mouth by the dimension of a short vertical section 26 (see FIG. 4a). The mouth of the container means 12 terminates in a lip portion in the form of a rolled bead 28 as shown. It will be noted that the portions 22 and 24 of the groove means 2% are generally opposing to each other and are adapted to co-act with portions of the closure member or lid means 14 as will now be explained.

The closure or lid means 14 comprises a relatively flat base portion 30 which extends across the mouth of the container to close same in the conventional fashion. Spaced radially inwardly a short distance from the marginal edge of the base portion 30 is an upwardly projecting reinforcing and stacking rib means 32 which is preferably formed of a compound curve shape, the steep curve being denominated with a reference numeral 34 and the rather shallow curve being denominated with a reference numeral 36. The rib means 32 serves to reinforce the rather large and thin extent of plastic material forming the base 30 and also serves to locate and center the bottom 18 of the next adjacent assembled package in a stack. This co-action is perhaps best shown in FIG. 2. The sharp angle of the curve 34 prevents the side edges, at the confluence of the bottom portion 18 and the side Walls of the next adjacent container in the stack, from being c ammed over the rib means 32 and thus serves to rather firmly position the next adjacent package in the stacking relationship.

Adjacent the marginal extent of base portion 30 is a short upwardly and outwardly diverging section (best shown in FIG. 4) which defines the edge of the base portion 30. The area of the base portion 30 immediately adjacent to section 40 (in the area denominated by the reference numeral 38) serves as the sealing portion of the lid means and co-acts with the lower or sealing area portion 22 of the groove means on the container means 12, this co-action being best shown in FIG. 4a. The lid means 14 is formed with reversely angled section 42 which is sharply inwardly and upwardly conical from section 40 and has a plurality of small spaced raised lugs 44 formed thereon as best shown in FIGS. 4, 4a and 4b. The lugs 44 engage section 24 (upper portion) of the groove means 20 on the container means 12, said lugs having the plurality of functions of (a) retaining the lid in assembled relation to the container, (b) spacing the surface of portion 24 of the container from portion 42 of the lid a distance sufiicient to provide a venting passageway for the egress of gas for purposes as shall be later explained, and (c) acting as the fulcrum for pivotal movement of portions 38 and 40 of the lid means relative to the sealing portion 22 of container means 12 as caused by the evolvement of increased gaseous pressure within the container and for the purpose of allowing egress of said gas.

The next adjacent segment to portions 42 of the lid means 14, comprises an inwardly conical section 46 (section 46 diverges from the vertical at a considerably lesser angle than that of section 42) which projects upwardly and together with the next substantially vertical portion 50 defines a radially offset shoulder means 48. The shoulder means 48 is of sufficient dimension to engage with the next adjacent lid means for stacking purposes when a plurality of lid means are placed in nested relation prior to assembly to the containers. This co-action is best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4c.

The substantially vertical section 50 of the lid is formed with a plurality of raised projecting ribs or lugs 52 which prevent a supplementary seal of the lid section 50 with container portion 26. A tapered lead-in portion 54 of the lid means is adjacent the outermost portion of the lid and diverges outwardly from section 50 and terminates in the sanitary overlay portion 56 which is slightly spaced from, yet overlays and protects the container bead 23 as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b. The lead-in portion 54 is configured in a manner to provide a centering action for the next adjacent lid of a plurality of lids in nested relation and also serves to co-ac-t with the lowermost corner 58 of the ribs 52 immediately adjacent the lid portion 48. This latter co-action is best shown in FIG. 40 and provides a resilient or spring-like action to a stack of lids (by providing a deformable section which gives a corrugation effect) upon compression of a stack of lids. This spring action prevents a jamming together of a plurality of lids and assures a good easy trouble-free feeding thereof in a one-by-one automatic strip-feeding mechanism which is utilized on many automatic assembling machines.

Stated another way, lids which are to be applied to containers are generally shipped in a stacked nested relationshi-p, particularly if the lids are made and warehoused separately from the containers and are then assembled thereto by automatic machinery after filling of the containers. Generally speaking, the lids are shipped in stacks of convenient size and are loaded into a dispensing apparatus which individually strips or removes one lid from the stack of lids and applies the lid to the filled container. Of necessity, this dispensing apparatus must operate at a high rate of speed and thus the stack of lids must readily separate one from the other so that jamming does not occur causing a foul-up of the operation.

Ready separation from a nested relationship is not difficult if the materials employed as lids have a substantial thickness. However, when thin gauge materials are employed, such as plastic materials under .035 inch, I have found that the use of a structure so as to provide a resilient action such as portions 58 impinging on portion 54 as above described, prevents a jamming together of a stack of lids so as to prevent easy feeding. Thus, in effect, the corners 58 serve as resilient stacking lugs which prevent impacts (such as occur in shipping) from causing one or more lids from jamming together.

When a container 12 is filled with a material such as cottage cheese and the lid 14 is assembled thereto, the biological action of the cottage cheese continues and the cheese ferments or works and thereby self-generates gas. Also some gas (air) is trapped during the assembly of the lid to the filled container.

Thus, at some later time after packaging, due either to a change in temperature which increases the pressure of the trapped gas or due to the pressures of the gas generated in the interior of the containers package, or a COIIlJblHfltlOIJ thereof, normal lids are literally popped or nnseated relative to the container means. Therefore, in the plastic containers and lids shown, it is desirous to have a venting means which affords easy egress of gas from the interior of the container while still aifording a tight seal to maintain sanitary conditions at all other times.

As can be best seen in FIG. 4b, when gas pressure presses against the rather large lid base portion 30, the semi-flexible base portion 30 is forced upwardly and the sealing portion 38 leaves sealing contact with portion 22 of the groove means. Gas is then allowed to pass through the venting and sealing means area by virtue of the lugs 44 which also serve as a fulcrum for the movement of portions 38 and 40 of the lid. The gas then goes on out past the portion 26 of the container and out between the bead and portion '56 of the lid. The rib portions 52 prevent a secondary seal between portions 26 and the upper portion of the lid means. Without the ribs, a seal in this area sometimes occurs, particularly if the filling mechanism for packaging the food stuffs might leave a slight film of milk or cream or similar substances which might cause a seal even though the dimensions of the lid are made such that contact will not ordinarily occur in this area. Also, the supplementary seal preventing ribs 52 afford a control against tolerance variations in the lids and the containers.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 5, 5a, and 5b and similar parts shall bear similar reference numerals with the addition of the sufiix A.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 differs from that discussed heretofore mainly in that it employs a double seal and also it is designed for a coin feeding operation rather than a strip type or vertical separation feeding operation (see discussion infra). The double seal area is shown most clearly in FIG. 5a where the marginal extent of the base portion 30a is formed with a first vertical section 60, a short generally horizontal section 62 and a third relatively short vertical section 64 (note that the axial dimension of section 64 is considerably less than that of section 60). With the configuration shown, portion 60 of the lid means sealingly engages the upper portion of the container sidewalls 16a and portion 62 of the lid means engages portion 22a of the container means. This affords a double sealing effect since two sections of the container means which are at right angles to each other are engaged by the lid means. The venting operation of the lid means 14a relative to the container means 12a is essentially similar as that discussed relative to the first embodiment, said co-action being illustrated in FIG. 5b. The particular configuration of the container 12a and lid 14a is advantageous when the lid is formed of plastic and the container 12a is formed of paper, since the groove means 20a of the container when made of paper may not provide a perfectly formed surface for good sealing characteristics. However, in paper containers, it is relatively easier to get a smooth surface suitable for sealing on the upper portion of sidewalls 16a of the containers. However, the particular form of sealing lids 14w shown, requires much closer tolerances than the lid 14 shown in FIG. 4 and, hence, when the lids are to be applied to plastic containers 12 the lid 14 has advantages from a manufacturing standpoint.

All of the lids shown are well adapted for machine handling for assembly to containers in dispensing lids for automatic assembly to containers. There are two major types of feeding mechanisms employed. One type, the so-called strip or vertical feeding type, has a substantially vertical relative separating movement between the lowermost lid and the next adjacent lid. The design of lid 14 shown in FIG. 4 is particularly suitable for this strip feeding type of mechanism. Further, this type 14 will afford a closer nesting of a plurality of lids than does the coin feeding type. However, coin feeding types of dispensing mechanisms are in existence and the lid 14a shown in FIGS. 4, 5a, and 5b is particularly designed to be fed from that type of automatic mechanism. In coin feeding mechanisms, the bottom most lid 14a is moved laterally or substantially horizontally relative to the next adjacent lid in a stack of lids rather than the vertical relative separating movement above discussed. To afford the requisite type of sliding relative movement of adjacent lids, the upper portion .of the lid 14a has a shoulder 48a disposed immediately adjacent the tapered lead-in section 54a. The next adjacent lid of a stack of lids will thus rest on shoulder 48a and can be slidingly moved across the tapered lead-in portion 54a relatively easily. It will be further noted that the supplementary seal preventing means or ribs 52a are now embossed in the tapered lead-in section 5-4 and may be short as shown or may extend completely around and include all of section 54a and lip section 56:: depending upon the dimensions employed.

The package 1% shown in FIGS. 6, 6a and 6b has substantially the reverse in co-action from that discussed in the first two embodiments. Similar parts shall bear similar reference numerals with the addition of the suffix b. More particularly, in the package 1012, the functional equivalent of the lugs 44 and ribs 52 are now formed directly into the container 12b and are given the reference numerals 68 and 70. It is, of course, virtually impossible to get the sharp definition required to form these lugs and ribs 68 and 70 when the containers are manufactured from paper, but it is quite possible to mold these configurations in the containers from materials such as polystyrene. It will be readily recognized that the lugs 68 and ribs 70 on the containers 12b serve the functions of the lugs 44 and 52, of the lid 14 respectively, said co-action being shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is substantially similar to those shown in FIGS. 1 through 5 and similar parts will be identified by similar reference numerals with the addition of the suifix c. The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 shows a double seal configuration utilizing a non offset lid portion. More particularly, the container means is formed with a more or less triangular offset portion comprising two parts 74 and 76 which are formed therein immediately below the internal groove means 20c. A projection 72 on the container means 120 and immediately adjacent the bottom most portion of the rib means 20c, impinges upon the sidewalls 78 of the lid means to provide a first seal and the second seal is formed where container portion 76 and lid portion 330 (which is immediately adjacent the marginal edge of the base portion 30c) mate. The co-action of this lid and container is substantially similar to that explained hereinbefore as is amply illustrated by FIG. 7a.

The embodiment shown in :FIG. 8 utilizes a single point seal and is particularly well adapted for the use of plastic lids upon paper containers. Similar parts shall be identified by similar reference numerals with the addition of the suifix d. More particularly, the lid means 14d is formed with a sharp projection 80 immediately adjacent the confluence of the sidewall portion 78d and base portion 36d. This projection '80 is adapted to impinge upon the sidewalls 16d of the container means below the internal groove means 29d. As aforestated, since it is easier to get a smooth, dimensionally stable straight sidewall in paper containers as compared with a surface which is in a groove, this particular type of lid 14d will provide a good seal while maintaining the functions of the lids as explained heretofore. In this particular type of package 100., when the lid Mn! is assembled to the container 12d under normal conditions, it is so designed that the base portion 300 of the lid 14d is slight bowed, as shown, so as to put a constant bias on portion 80 to aggressively urge same into engagement with the sidewalls 16d of the container.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is with full awareness that many modifications thereof are possible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is neces-= sitated by the prior art by the spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. A self-venting sanitary package comprising a one piece container means having an open end defined by a circumferential rim, a one piece snap on manually removable closure means adapted to be inserted within and retained on said one piece container means, said container means having a portion of the side walls oiTset radially outwardly relative to other portions of the side walls, said container portion being adjacent said open end of said container means, said closure means having an end wall portion for closing oif said open end of said container means and a side Wall portion extending upwardly from said end wall portion and terminating in a reversely extending portion overlying the rim of said container means which defines the open end thereof, said container means and said closure means each being formed with a sealing means portion for normally engaging each other to seal said container means when in assembled relation, and one of said closure means and container means being formed with an integral combination holding and venting means portion adapted to be associated with said radially outwardly offset portion of said container means, said holding and venting means portion being arranged relative to said respective sealing means portions so as to be on the downstream side of said sealing means portions when gaseous material within said container means causes said sealing means portions to disengage with each other, said holding and venting means having no axial movement and thereby holding said container and closure in assembled relation while preventing substantial retrogressive relative movement of said closure means and said container means during egress of gaseous material under pressure and emanating from the interior of said container means.

2. The package set forth in claim 1 wherein the combination holding and venting means is formed in said container means on an upper portion of said radially outwardly ofiset portion thereof.

3. The package set forth in claim 1 wherein the combination holding and venting means is integrally formed in said one piece closure means for co-action with an upper portion of said radially outwardly ofiset portion of said container means.

4. The package set forth in claim 3 wherein said sealing means portions on each of said closure means and said container means is vertically below said holding and venting means portion of said closure means.

5. The package in claim 4 wherein each of said sealing means portions are spaced, located below, and are separate from said radially offset portion of said side walls of said container means.

6. A self-venting package comprising one piece closure means adapted to be inserted within and retained on a container means having a portion of the side walls forming an internal groove projecting radially outwardly relative to other portions of the side walls, said internal groove having an upper portion and a lower portion and being positioned adjacent to and spaced from an open end of said container means, said closure means having a relatively short axial height and having an end wall portion for insertion within for closing off said open end of said container means and a side wall portion extending upwardly from said end wall portion, said side wall portion of said closure means being formed with a bead portion for co-action with said groove of said container means, said container means and said closure means each being formed with a sealing means means portion for normally engaging each other to seal said container means, said container means sealing portion being adjacent said lower portion of said internal groove and said closure means sealing portion being adjacent the junction of said side wall and said end wall of said closure means, and at least one of said closure means and said container means being formed with a combination holding and venting means portion in the joint vicinity of said bead portion of said closure means and the upper portion of said groove means of said container means, said holding and venting means portion being arranged relative to said respective sealing means portion so as to be on the downstream side of said sealing means portions when gaseous material within said container means causes said sealing means portions to disengage with each other, said holding and venting means permitting free flow of gaseous fluid while preventing substantial relative movement of said closure means and said container means during emission of gaseous material under pressure from the interior of said container means.

7. A self-venting sanitary package comprising a container means having a lip portion adjacent to and defining an open end thereof, a first relatively short side wall portion adjacent the lip portion, a second relatively long side wall portion and an internal groove means adjacent said first and second side wall portions and defining the juncture therebetween, said groove means being formed with an upper and lower portion, said closure member comprising an end wall portion adapted to be disposed within said container means for closing off the open end thereof, a side wall portion extending upwardly from said end Wall portion and terminating in a reversedly formed portion for overlaying said lip portion, a bead means adapted to be engaged with said upper portion of said groove means of said container means, a sealing means portion adjacent the juncture of said side wall portion and end wall portion of said closure member and configured so as to be disposed below said bead means for normally engaging a portion of said container to normally seal same, and a first venting means portion integrally formed in one of said container means and closure member for joint coaction of said bead means of said closure means and with said upper portion of said groove means of said container means, said first venting means portion being arranged relative to said sealing means portion of said closure means so as to be on the downstream side of said sealing'means portion when gaseous material within said container means causes said sealing means portion to disengage with said portion of said container means normally engaged thereby, and a second venting means portion integrally formed in one of container means and closure member for joint coaction of said side wall portion of said closure means and with said first side Wall portion of said container means to prevent supplementary sealing engagement therebetween.

8. A one piece snap in manually removable closure member adapted to be inserted within and retained on a container means having a portion of the side walls circumferentially continuously offset radially outwardly relative to other portions of the side walls, said radially outward container portion being adjacent an open end of said container means, said closure member comprising an end wall portion, a side wall portion extending upwardly from said end wall portion and terminating in a reversely extending portion adapted to overlie the ends of the side walls of said container means which defines the open end thereof, a sealing means portion for normally engaging a portion of said container to seal same and a combination holding and venting means portion adapted to be associated with said radially outwardly offset portion of said container means, said holding and venting means portion being arranged relative to said sealing means portion so-as to be on the downstream side of said sealing means portion when gaseous material within said container means causes said sealing means portion to disengage with said portion of said container means, and holding and venting means engaging said radially offset portion of said container means in snap in engagement so that said closure means is held from retrogressive movement relative to said container means during egress of gaseous material under pressure and emanating from the interior of said container means, there being no axial movement of said holding and venting means relative to said radially outward container portion during egress of gaseous material under pressure.

9. A one piece flexible closure member adapted to be inserted and retained on a container means having an internal groove means adjacent an open end therof, said closure member comprising an end wall portion for closing oh. the open end of the container means, a side Wall portion extending upwardly from said end wall portion, a sealing means portion located adjacent to said end wall portion for normally engaging a portion of said container to seal same and movable to a non-sealing position, and a holding and venting means portion adapted to be associated with said groove means of said container, said holding and venting means portion being formed in said side wall portion and spaced above said sealing means portion so as to be on the downstream side of said sealing means portion when gaseous material within said container means causes said sealing means portion to disengage with said portion of said container means, said venting and holding means portion serving as a fulcrum for pivotal movement of said sealing means portion to its non-sealing position.

10. A one piece closure member adapted for use with a container means having a lip portion adjacent to and defining an open end thereof, a first relatively short side wall portion adjacent the lip portion, a second relatively long side Wall portion and an internal groove means adjacent said first and second side wall portions and defining the juncture therebetween; said closure member comprising an end Wall portion adapted to be disposed within said container means for closing off the open end thereof, a side wall portion extending upwardly from said end wall portion and terminating in a reversedly formed portion for overlaying said lip portion, a sealing means portion adjacent the juncture of said side wall portion and end Wall portion of said closure member for engaging a portion of said container to seal same, and a first venting means portion adapted to be associated with said groove means of said container, said first venting means portion being arranged relative to said sealing means portion so as to be on the downstream side of said sealing means portion when gaseous material within said container means causes said sealing means portion to disengage with said portion of said container means, and a second venting means portion disposed on said side Wall portion of said closure means to prevent a sealing engagement thereof with said first side wall portion and said lip means of said container means.

11. A snap in one piece integral closure member adapted for use with the internal side Walls of a container means having an open end comprising an end Wall portion for closing off the open end of the container means, a side wall means extending upwardly from said end wall portion and terminating in a reversely extending portion adapted to overlie the ends of the side walls defining the open end of the container means, a sealing means portion resiliently biased for normally engaging a portion of the interior of said container to seal same and a holding and venting means portion adapted to be associated with another portion of the interior of said container, said holding and venting means portion being arranged relative to said sealing means portion so as to permit movement of gaseous material past said sealing means portion, while preventing disengagement movement of said closure means and said container means.

12. A one piece snap in manually removable integral flexible closure member adapted to be inserted and retained on a container means having an internal circumferentially continuous groove means adjacent an open end thereof comprising an end Wall portion for closing oil the open end of the container means, a side Wall portion extending upwardly from said end wall portion, and a holding and venting means portion adapted to be associated with said groove means of said container, said holding and venting means portion being formed in said side wall portion adjacent said end wall portion, said venting means being in the form of a radially inward upset in said side wall portion permitting egress of gaseous material from the interior to the exterior of said container, said holding and venting means being so arranged relative to said groove means in said container means so as to prevent relative axial movement therebetween and thereby positively retaining said closure means on said container means when once in assembled relation.

13. A package comprising a container means and a one piece snap on manually removable integral flexible clossure member adapted to be inserted and retained on said container means, said container means having an internal circumferentially continuous groove means adjacent an open end thereof, said closure member comprising an end Wall portion for closing off the open end of the container means, a side Wall portion extending upwardly from said end Wall portion, and a holding and venting means portion adapted to be associated with said groove means of said container, said holding and venting means portion being formed in said side wall portion adjacent said end wall portion, said venting means being in the form of a plurality of radially inward upsets in said side Wall portion permitting egress of gaseous material from the interior to the exterior of said container, said holding and venting means being so arranged relative to said groove means in said container means so as to prevent any substantial relative axial movement therebetween and thereby positively retaining said closure means on said container means when once in assembled relation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 774,797 Sturges Nov. 15, 1904 2,054,094 Murch Sept. 15, 1936 2,072,149 Young Mar. 2, 1937 2,109,805 Stewart Mar. 1, 1938 2,693,307 Goodwin Nov. 2, 1954 2,790,576 Lawrence Apr. 30, 1957 2,816,682 Brucker Dec. 17,1957 2,858,955 Kroenert Nov. 4, 1958 2,878,848 Coltman Mar. 24, 1959 2,881,368 Hancock Apr. 7, 1959 2,950,813 Koones Aug. 30, 1960 2,972,432 Flack et al. Feb. 21, 196 1 FOREIGN PATENTS 572,168 Canada Mar. 10, 1959 

